How politically vulnerable will Underwood be come the '20 elections?

I have no doubt that Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Democrat from Naperville, is going to face one of the most aggressive political challenges when she seeks re-election in 2020.

UNDERWOOD: Already being challenged

She is, after all, a black woman Democrat who ran in last year’s elections for a Congressional seat representing one of the most intense Republican districts in Illinois. Meaning I expect GOP political operatives will think of her as THAT WOMAN who had the NERVE to take a seat away from their ranks.

TRYING TO REGAIN the Illinois 14^th congressional district post may well be one of the priorities for Republicans nationwide in the next election cycle.

Yet I can’t help but admit that I’m wondering if Republicans are going to be their worst enemies, and that they won’t be able to overcome the advantages of incumbency that Underwood will have as she seeks a second term in Congress.

As the Capitol Fax newsletter reported Monday, documents were filed with the Federal Elections Commission that would have state Sen. James Oberweis, D-Sugar Grove, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois.

Except that Oberweis has no intention of actually trying to depose Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill, who would be running for a fifth term in the U.S. Senate come that election cycle.

Oberweis couldn't even win in '02 … 

IT SEEMS A campaign aide for Oberweis marked the wrong box in filing the forms for his boss. He’s going for the House of Representatives seat – making him one of three Republicans thus far with an interest in taking on Underwood.

Should we really think that highly of a candidate whose staffers are inept enough to misfile their candidate’s forms? They can’t even tell which office he wants to run for? Unless they’re really amongst the few deluded enough to think Oberweis is worthy of one of Illinois’ top political posts?

… against Durkin, how could he think … 

It’s certainly obvious enough that the voters don’t think much of him. He’s run for U.S. Senate and Illinois governor. In fact, he would have been the candidate who tried to take on Durbin way back in 2002 – except that Oberweis couldn’t even win the Republican primary that year.

It wound up being Jim Durkin (now the Illinois House Minority leader) who won that primary, only to get his behind whomped by Durbin’s desire for a second term in the U.S. Senate (he’s now on term four, and would be seeking a fifth if the 74-year-old Springfield resident actually makes it all the way through the process).

… of beating up on Durbin

MY POINT BEING that if Oberweis truly is the best the Republicans can come up with for the 2020 election cycle, they may well be handing Underwood a victory already.

Because despite his multiple election campaigns throughout the past three decades, the only post he’s ever been able to win is that Illinois Senate seat from DuPage County.

He may be just the local jamoke who’s incapable of taking on anybody bigger – particularly if the Democrats are able to build up Underwood’s national reputation to any degree.

Ocasio-Cortez younger by three years

Because she is the woman with a medical professional background who currently has the so-called title of the youngest African-American woman (age 32) to be elected to the House of Representatives.

SHE’D ACTUALLY BE the youngest woman ever if not for Alexandra Ocasio-Cortex from New York, whose victory last year came at age 29.

Admittedly, Underwood doesn’t have anywhere near the mouth that Ocasio does – the one that manages to offend Republican partisans so intensely that they usually wind up managing to put their feet in their own mouths whenever they try to attack her.

STAVA-MURRAY: Dem really faces tough times

But I have to admit, Underwood is going out of her way to respond to just about every issue and put herself in the mix of what is happening in D.C. I’ve literally lost count of the number of statements she has issued that wind up in my e-mail box.

And if it turns out that she has challengers as inept as Oberweis, she could wind up being the favorite – particularly since I get the impression that Naperville political operatives are going to be more focused on causing the political defeat of Anne Stava-Murray, the Democrat with a mouth who says SHE wants to take on Durbin come 2020.

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Do Beatty & Dunaway now deserve a fate worse than Bonnie and Clyde?

A part of me wonders if I'm fit to comment on the Academy Awards fiasco, on account of the fact I didn't actually see any of the films involved. Then again, not having first-hand information has never stopped anyone else from spewing an opinion.

This is what happens when you relive history

So here's mine!

I CAN'T HELP but be amused at how what was supposed to be a truly touching moment of this year's ceremony wound up becoming one of the historic gaffes. Actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway made the announcement of the "Best Picture" winner exactly 50 years after they were the stars of "Bonnie and Clyde," which won Best Picture for 1967.

I know, I know. That's really not historic, unless you're the type of person who has no real sense of what history is.

The real-life Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker who went through a southwestern U.S. crime spree for a few months at the height of the Great Depression of the 1930s was historic. Seeing Beatty and Dunaway continue to try to live off the reputation of a job they had five decades ago is almost pathetic.

Then, to top it off, it seems that the couple couldn't read a card properly. They informed us that this year's "Best Picture" was the film "La La Land," only to have to cut off that director's film in mid-acceptance speech so we can be told the real winner was "Moonlight."

NOW I KNOW the official explanation was that someone handed Beatty the wrong "envelope" which contained the card saying that Emma Stone won "Best Actress" for her "La La Land" performance -- which led to Beatty stumbling about and Dunaway actually telling us that the film many people thought would take a whole slew of awards actually won the big prize!

The real winner

Which led to the moment when a PriceWaterhouseCooper accountant got his moment of glory when he got to step forward publicly and bring the Academy Awards to a halt with the word that the announcement was wrong. Accountants of the world probably cheered in unison, while the rest of us wondered "Who's this schlub?!?"

What makes me laugh about the way this was handled so publicly in a manner that will embarrass many on the Hollywood scene is that there are those who are convinced of past year conspiracies that say a different film or actor actually won a prize, but that some sort of gaffe caused a public announcement of a different winner -- and the academy was too ashamed to admit it.

I know for a fact there are those people who are convinced Marisa Tomei didn't really deserve that "Best Supporting Actress" award she took for her obnoxiously sensual role as the girlfriend in "My Cousin Vinnie."

Should we rescind this Oscar as punishment?

THERE ARE WEBSITES that traffic in this sort of conspiracy who will insist a wrong envelope was grabbed, or a card was misread, and that there is an actress out there who should have won -- but was robbed!

Not that I expect any of this to put past speculation to rest. Those of us who can't get over certain things usually never do. We carry a grudge to the bitter end of our time in this realm of existence.

Now as for Beatty and Dunaway, I wonder what happens to them -- particularly Beatty, whom it seems is the one that people want to place blame on. After all, you can't hit a girl, particularly one as lovely as Faye herself.

Maybe we can come up with a conspiracy saying that Beatty's Oscar as "Best Director" for "Reds" (he has been nominated 14 times) should somehow be taken back? Although I doubt there are many people who want for "Chariots of Fire" (which took Best Picture that year) to win another award. Could we give it retroactively to Steven Spielberg for "Raiders of the Lost Ark," even though "Reds" really was a spectacular film?

OR MAYBE WE could subject the Beatty/Dunaway pairing to a fate similar to what became of their Bonnie and Clyde characters in the film? Nah, having them blown away in a hail of gunfire would be grotesque -- even if that moment was a historic one in the tales of cinematic action.

Can we now concede Marisa Tomei really won?

The outcome of all of this most likely was that Sunday night's Academy Awards became the Warren Beatty show. It was definitely the only way he'd have a significant role -- since his own film from last year, "Rules Don't Apply," certainly wasn't in the running for any Oscars.

Of course, there were those people who were convinced that the memorable moment of the evening would be some Hollywood snot-nosed punk who'd take it on him/or herself to publicly take a pot-shot at President Donald Trump.

It seems, instead, the focus was placed elsewhere for an evening and nobody cared the least what Trump thought. Which, considering the size of the overbloated presidential ego, probably bothers Donald J. more than anything else; making it more likely he'll go all-the-more over-the-top Tuesday when he delivers his first joint address to Congress.

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EXTRA: Gods of baseball setting someone up for a historic whammy!?!

Perhaps this church in suburban Homewood has the right idea; the good Lord himself isn’t taking a rooting interest in the World Series.

Although the gods of baseball (to whom “Jesus” is Alou, the uncle of former Chicago Cub Moises) are likely setting up a doozy of an ending to this year’s World Series – which could come to its conclusion Tuesday or could draw out as long as Wednesday.

ONE PART OF me can’t help but speculate that for the Cleveland Indians to come this close to victory and still manage to fall short would truly be cruel and unusual punishment.

Also the hermano of Felipe and Matteo

Of course, for the Chicago Cubs to have such a miraculous comeback would be so out-of-character for the ball club. If anything, it would be totally appropriate for the Cubs to be the team with the early lead that manages to find a way to blow it.

Remember 1984? And I don’t mean the George Orwell book!

I know Cubs fans have been buying into the “best team in baseball” nonsense all season, and some are convinced that a Cubs ultimate victory MUST be pre-ordained. Even though the sensible part of my baseball fandom knows there is no such thing – even less so than crying in baseball.

IF IT REALLY comes down to the Cubs managing to avoid having to say “Wait ‘til Next Year” for the 109^th time, it most likely will be due to some sort of act in the next couple of days by the Indians that blows it on a historic proportion.

Something that finally puts Fred Merkle’s “boner” to rest once-and-for-all. Which, by the way, was the only reason the Cubs managed to win that 1908 National League title instead of the New York Giants and even play in the World Series at all that year. Something that taints an Indians player for the rest of his baseball life.

 
So if you’re really amongst those who has to see the Cubs prevail in 2016, place your bets on an Indian gaffe – something so bad that not even Cubbie incompetence can blow it. Something so bad that Chief Wahoo takes on an eerie overtone to it.

Because if you’re seriously counting on Cubs skill to prevail, I’m pretty sure I can say that you’ll be crying at the sight of the “World Series Champion Cleveland Indians” piling on top of each other on their field in celebration – and having to be thankful you didn’t have to watch that sight live Sunday night at Wrigley following a Game 5 loss.

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Gee, she produced trivial, meaningless content that’s now on the Internet. Is that really a fire-able offense?

Let me state up front that I do not know Susannah Collins. I have never met her, and for all I know I never will.

COLLINS: Looking for work

And since I don’t pay much attention to professional hockey, I have to confess that I never saw the now-former Comcast SportsNet Chicago reporter-type person at work.

AT LEAST NOT until she had the on-air flub earlier this week (letting the word “sex” instead of “success” slip into her report) that caused people to start paying more attention to her; thereby digging up her work from past broadcast jobs that showed a body of work that was downright trivial.

Some might even call it stupid.

So stupid that the Comcast sports people felt compelled to let her go from her current job – which strikes me as being hypocritical. Because I suspect the “content” that some are now claiming to push the boundaries of sports journalism and good taste (that’s how the Chicago Tribune phrased it) was completely in line with what her former employers expected.

And which is oh so similar to much of what appears on so many Internet sites – the ones that supposedly are providing people what they’re really interested in and why newspapers and other organizations (the alleged “legacy media” that some like to dump on every chance they get) are supposedly on our way out of business.

FOR THE RECORD, Collins used to work for an entity called Middlebrow Media, and was co-host (with another attractive female) of a program called SportzNuts – some of which still exists in video clips posted on YouTube.

As far as I can tell, she did a lot of interviews with “fans” that devolved into double entendres, although the Tribune dug up the video of a parody of a dramatic reading of the sex stories included in former pro basketball player Darryl Dawkin’s ghost-written biography “Chocolate Thunder.”

Quite frankly, I just can’t get outraged – except at the thought of Comcast SportsNet Chicago now thinking it can play all high and mighty and claim it is shocked, shocked to learn that trivialities and nonsense were uttered during a broadcast report.

I have just seen and heard way too much non-news committed by people who want to think they’re journalists to think there’s anything at all unique about this!

HECK, THE SAME kind of people who thought it was so titillating to hear Collins say “sex” instead of “success” that the Comcast video went “viral” are the same types who motivate alleged news outlets to produce the trivialities that Collins (and many others) are producing.

If that is what some people want to fill their minds with, it may well be their choice. Just don’t expect me (or anyone else with sense) to take them seriously.

Because I’m sure these are the individuals who think there’s something legitimate about that study last month by CareerCast.com that claims being a newspaper reporter is the “worst job” in the United States.

Although the report that got to me was one published by Yahoo! That pointed out five “dying” careers – and labeled “reporters” (all, not just newspaper types) who ought to look into an alternative career of “public relations specialist.”

WHAT ABOUT THE fact that if reporters really do die off as an occupation there wouldn’t be any need for corporate types to hire PR spokesmen to deal with reporters? I suspect the kind of people who think that the stuff Collins was doing was fully legitimate are the ones who think there is something logical about this thought.

They’re probably the ones who think that the problem with “the media” all these years is that they have focused attention on “boring” stuff like “news!” They’re the ones who think that Collins’ work was legitimate, and are only dumping on her now even though she produced what her bosses wanted.

Which is why a part of me is hoping that Collins manages to become something other than the “sex reporter” from Chicago and manages to find work elsewhere, other than as someone's public relations spokeswoman.

Does the world really need another PR hack?

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EXTRA: What is this, Miami?!?

Something needs fixing. Photograph by Gregory Tejeda

CALUMET CITY, Ill. – I couldn’t help but get my chuckle for the day while driving Saturday morning through the town in which I grew up.

This Pete’s Fresh Market store was a Dominick’s back in the days when I lived there. It is a nice supermarket, in and of itself, with a particularly nice produce section and ample numbers of foodstuffs for those who are into cooking various ethnic dishes.

BUT THINK ABOUT it. When was the last time we in the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area had a “January 4” with temperatures anywhere near 73 degrees?

Obviously, there’s a computer glitch of sorts (the real time was somewhere around 10:50 a.m.). Either that, or somebody thinks we live in South Florida these days along with Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen.

Here’s hoping they get their clock fixed soon. Or maybe we should just be thankful they got the temperature right – which means that we got a break Saturday from the maddening heat we have experienced this summer?

  -30-

EDITOR'S NOTE: For what it's worth, a typical January day in Chicago reaches a high temperature of 31 degrees, just barely below the level for freezing water.

Daley's the political prodigy who appears to be Chicago's version of 'everyman'

“Dumb Dumb” Daley.

I still remember when Richard M. Daley ran what turned out to be his first successful mayoral campaign, allies of opponent Tim Evans (then an alderman, now a judge) tried to tag the “son of ‘Hizzoner’,” with that label.

I CAN REMEMBER the phrase sticking for awhile. People in Chicago would say “Dumb Dumb,” and everybody knew who they were referring to. Yet that didn’t stop them from voting for Daley over Evans, or for continuing to pick Daley to be mayor of the Second City for the bulk of the past two decades

Richard M. inherited from his father, Richard J. (the man both beloved and despised by a certain generation of Chicagoans), the ability to come off as every man – providing an image that allows people to think he’s just like themselves, even though the Daleys have led lives in Chicago politics the bulk of us could never identify with.

Consider that Barack Obama is the guy who was raised by a single mother who struggled financially at times and had to work hard to gain the financial aid that allowed him to get a top-flight education, while Daley is a product of a political family that set the stage for him to someday run for office (Illinois Senate, then Cook County state’s attorney, before becoming mayor) and be a Chicago big shot.

Yet Obama is the guy who gets tagged with being an “elitist” who can’t identify with the common man, and Daley is seen as the guy who still lives in the neighborhood (he left Bridgeport years ago) and probably enjoyed playing slow-pitch softball while guzzling beer – just like everybody else.

THIS IMAGE WAS what came to my mind when I first learned of Daley’s latest gaffe, referring to self-important television talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as “Helen” when providing a taped introduction for her show.

Daley’s participation was due to the fact that DeGeneres is doing an episode of her show from Chicago, and the producers wanted to include Chicago’s preeminent resident.

Now I have read a couple of Internet rants that claim shame that Daley wouldn’t know the name of one of talk television’s top names these days. “Muttering, stuttering, illiterate” and “Mayor Knucklehead” are just a couple of the tags from people who are upset that Daley has more important things to do with his life than keep straight the name of the latest person who is important just from having been on television.

But Chicagoans, by and large, are not going to hold this against Richie. How many of us have managed to blow a name?

I’D ARGUE THAT “Helen” and “Ellen” may very well be a slip of the tongue, or a product of Daley’s “Chicagoese” – which itself is a product of the old Irish brogue mixed with Midwestern nasally twang, and exposure to the hundreds of other ethnic accents that have passed through Chicago in its more than 170 years of existence.

“Helen DeGeneres” is far from the most outrageous thing I have heard come from Daley’s mouth. I vote for, “I’m pro-death. Let’s get on with it,” to a question about capital punishment, although some people I know still remember the line, “If you had a rat in your sandwich, you’d want to know,” to a question about restaurant cleanliness.

It’s just a blunt-spoken way of talking that people think of as being honest – even at times when Daley is going out of his way to say as little as possible. For those people who like sports analogies, “Daley-speak” is similar to “Stengel-ese,” the comical, twisted, overly-convoluted way that former New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel used to express his thoughts about baseball.

It made him a character in baseball circles, and Daley has become a similar colorful personality in the world of electoral politics – which is ironic because Daley the personality can be so average that he’d be deadly dull if he didn’t mangle his syntax every now and then.

IT IS THIS image that enables Daley to escape the corrupt culture of Chicago politics.

So many times, there are political scandals that convince political observers that the mayor is on the verge of losing everything. I can still remember the debates from political people utterly confused about why the world of “Hired Truck” was not resulting in Daley’s defeat in the 2007 mayoral election.

These people couldn’t figure out why Daley was running so far ahead of his opposition, which was hardly putting up a fight at all.

It is that image of “everyman” that Daley can put forth with his gobbledygook and gaffes. Daley is one of those people who could only be brought down on Election Day if a federal indictment were to be issued against him.

IN FACT, DALEY might very well be the one Chicago politico who could win re-election even with an indictment against him.

A part of me wonders if it would take Daley literally being carted off to jail to break his power over City Hall, or if he would turn out to be like so many Mafioso who supposedly oversee organized crime from their jail cells.

If it turned out that Daley did covertly give orders from “the big house,” there’d be a segment of Chicagoans who wouldn’t be the least bit offended. They'd be the ones who would hold candlelight vigils for Daley.

If that sounds appalling to you, keep in mind that "the Chicago way" is the mentality that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has had to fight his way through as he oversees many investigations of municipal corruption in northern Illinois.

SO WHAT SHOULD we make of Mayor “Dumb Dumb?”

I honestly thought DeGeneres herself handled the situation the best, cracking wise that Daley should remember her as the woman named after the city’s mass-transit system – the “El” (for “Ellen,” get it?)

She also tried to get Daley to go along with her show schtick, as she wanted him to dance with her at the end of the show’s opening number.

Of course, Daley wouldn’t dance, which probably made him appear to be even more of “a real guy” to the thousands of Chicagoans who couldn’t dance the Funky Chicken (or even the Chicken Dance) to save their lives.

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EDITOR’S NOTES: How many thousands of Chicagoans are going to watch the “Helen” DeGeneres show on Tuesday (3 p.m. on WMAQ-TV, Ch. 5), just to see and hear (http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2008/05/04/daley_clearly_not_a_big_ellen_fan/7276/) Richard M. Daley blow it again?

Some people (http://chicagoist.com/2008/05/04/uh_mayor_its_el.php) take verbal gaffes (http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/931157,CST-NWS-ellen04.article) way too seriously, as noted by the reader commentary to these two pieces of copy.

Ellen does Chicago (http://ellen.warnerbros.com/thisweek/) in style, taping her show from Michigan Avenue. Somehow, I’d be more impressed if she had sought out the real Chicago, rather than the touristy version. How about a taping from 91st Street and Commercial Avenue?